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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28341606">Bra-Vado</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaudeZbornak/pseuds/MaudeZbornak'>MaudeZbornak</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ben Solo is a Himbo, Ben Solo is a Mess, Contemporary AU, Dirty Talk, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Makeup Sex, Manipulation, Masturbation, Mutual Masturbation, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Roommate, Rey is Calculating, Reylo Prompt, Roommates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:40:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,422</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28341606</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaudeZbornak/pseuds/MaudeZbornak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>CW: Surveillance video, manipulative/possessive behavior (also check the tags)</p><p>Inspired by the Curious Cat prompt: Ben gets set up on a date, his roommate Rey is jealous and purposely leaves her bra out on the couch in case he brings his date home for sex, Ben realizes it once it becomes a pattern.</p><p>Originally meant to be a one-shot, this grew into nearly 10k words. It features:</p><p>Ben as clueless and mixed-up<br/>Phasma as the sassy work wife<br/>Rey as the quiet, devious sort<br/>References to Ben's past relationships<br/>Much dirty talk in Chapter 5</p><p>Please accept this in the hasty holiday spirit in which it was written. If you like this, please check out my in progress Reylo rom-com, In Focus. If you hate this, please check out my in progress Reylo rom-com, In Focus.</p><p>Thank you for being a friend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Rey &amp; Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>93</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Favor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’m calling in that favor you owe me,” said Ben Solo.</p>
<p>Phasma Scyre closed her menu and folded her hands on top. “I knew you were up to something. You never offer to buy me lunch just because you like me.”</p>
<p>“I like you fine. I liked you enough to help with the Crait brief when you were in over your head.” Ben sipped his Coke. “I’ll like you much more if you help me out here.”</p>
<p>“So long as the favor doesn’t involve taking on your workload. You know what, forget I said that. I want to hear what you’re committing me to first.” She glanced up at the approaching waitress, nodding at her open pad. “Lobster salad sandwich, no pickle. Add a Diet Dr. Brown’s to that.” She pushed aside the free water, a blatant indication to Ben that the favor would cost him despite his past good deeds.</p>
<p>“Club sandwich on toast, and a refill.” Ben held up his glass and, when the waitress departed, turned his attention back to his colleague. “It’s actually very easy to do. I need you to help me confirm a suspicion I have about my roommate.”</p>
<p>“Hux, right? He came to the Super Bowl party. I thought he was kind of shifty-eyed.”</p>
<p>Ben shook his head. “He left, moved in with his girlfriend eight months ago. My new roommate is a woman.”</p>
<p>Phasma smiled and nodded. “And you want me to confirm she’s gay. Well, this is a favor I can return.”</p>
<p>“Down, girl,” he warned. “So, she’s a nice person, pays her share of the bills on time. Clean and quiet. Much better roommate than Armie was, and he’s my closest friend.”</p>
<p>“So why involve me, if this isn’t a romantic setup?” Phasma shrugged and picked up her water. “Clean and quiet sounds boring to me, anyway.”</p>
<p>“It <em>is</em> a romantic setup. You and me.”</p>
<p>He bit his lip to keep from laughing at Phasma’s spit-take.</p>
<p>“Damn it, Ben.” She dabbed at her blazer.</p>
<p>“Just listen, okay?” He leaned back to let the server set down their plates and drinks. Mentally he calculated the bill, the price of Phasma’s help, and groaned. They didn’t serve claw meat in the sandwiches here.</p>
<p>He eyed his lunch, knowing it would end up in a bag for later. Mulling over the events of the last few weeks had robbed him of his appetite. If what he suspected was the truth, it left him two choices to resolve the issue, neither of which appealed to him.</p>
<p>He pushed the plate aside and started on the second Coke. “You remember when we all went out to Canto for drinks and Mr. Calrissian introduced me to --”</p>
<p>“Jannah, I remember.” Phasma turned dreamy-eyed for a second, then scowled. “She was hot. Like that wasn’t a total setup.”</p>
<p>“It damn near happened, too. First few dates were great, we clicked. Third date I invited her back for a drink. Rey, my roommate, had left earlier on a weekend work retreat, so I had the place to myself.”</p>
<p>“I hate you, Ben. Pass the pepper.”</p>
<p>“Open the door, on with the lights, and there’s a bra hanging over the arm of the sofa,” he finished. Not a modest one, either. Black lace, no straps, front hook -- straight from some X-rated collection.</p>
<p>Phasma stared at him. “So, you want me to confirm it belongs to your roommate? Big deal. You told Jannah you room with a woman, right?”</p>
<p>“I did. She seemed cool with it.” A knot settled in Ben’s stomach as the memories surfaced. “It killed the mood, though. So I offered to make it up on the next date by cooking dinner.”</p>
<p>Phasma stopped eating and leaned in, chin on hands, totally invested now.</p>
<p>“Jannah comes over. I mix her a drink, sit next to her on the couch, and feel something wedged under the throw pillow.”</p>
<p>“Another bra?”</p>
<p>“I shoved it down into the couch before Jannah noticed. Dinner went fine. We started the Netflix, but Rey came home early from her girls’ night before we got to the chill.”</p>
<p>“Ew. Your room has a door, right?” Phasma asked. “Do you know how any of this works?”</p>
<p>Ben sighed. “Okay, I see I’m losing you, so to summarize the fifth and <em>last</em> date: drinks out, bra on couch, we move to my room, she’s in there five seconds before ‘something comes up,’” he stressed this with finger-quotes, “and she takes off. She’s been ghosting me ever since.”</p>
<p>“Poor baby. What’s her number?”</p>
<p>“It’s not funny.” He meant it. Meeting Jannah had ended a very long dry spell, and it hurt that a fun and sexy woman had suddenly turned off him like that. He’d done everything right, so he thought, and wound up alone again.</p>
<p>The only common denominator in the chain of events leading to this moment was Rey’s neglect toward her lingerie. He felt stupid for having this epiphany so late in the game. He wanted to believe having a female roommate shouldn’t deter a potential girlfriend, and yet he needed Phasma’s help to confirm it.</p>
<p>“Did you think to confront Rey about her wayward underthings?” Phasma asked. “If you didn’t after the first cock-block, that’s on you.”</p>
<p>“I did, all three times. There was always an excuse. It must have fallen out of my gym bag, must have fallen out the laundry basket, yada yada. I can’t really accuse her of anything if I don’t know for certain it wasn’t me who drove Jannah away.”</p>
<p>“So...I’m a decoy then.” Phasma stroked her chin. “You make some big pronouncement about bringing a date home, then I waltz in and, what? If I see a bra in the wild am I supposed to freak out?”</p>
<p>“If we see a bra,” Ben signaled for a box, “I’ll know something’s up.”</p>
<p>“You idiot. How are you a paralegal? Of course something is up.” Phasma laughed. “Your roomie doesn’t want you fucking anybody in her apartment.”</p>
<p>“It’s our apartment, and we have an agreement.” Ben lifted his sandwich, careful not to tear the bread, into his to-go box. “We notify each other in advance of guests and overnights. She can bring home anybody she wants, too. I don’t care.”</p>
<p>“Has she?”</p>
<p>He looked up from his lunch. “I don’t know. I’m not home all the time, and I never ask.”</p>
<p>“Oh, honey.” Phasma sounded weary, yet amused. She reached over and plucked a healthy strip of bacon from Ben’s sandwich before he got the lid closed. “I’ll do it. I need to see this for myself, and hopefully you’ll learn something. But I want something more in return.”</p>
<p>“Saving your ass at work and an expensive lunch isn’t enough?” he asked. “You want blood?”</p>
<p>“I want you to introduce me to that bike messenger lady who always stops to chat with you. The one with the purple hair.” She winked. “I like her vibe.”</p>
<p>“Done. Can we at least split the check?”</p>
<p>Phasma glared.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Ben was sifting through the day’s mail when he opened the front door to the tempting aroma of Rey’s cooking. They alternated nights, and as well as he cooked he looked forward to her meals more. She was the adventurous one, attempting popular Pinterest recipes and often succeeding.</p>
<p>His stomach panged, not from hunger. The prospect of instigating an argument with Rey nettled at him. They’d had such a smooth, genial relationship to this point. For all he knew, Rey believed everything was fine. Her haphazard laundry habits interfering with his romantic aspirations set him on edge. He hated to lose a reliable roommate, but celibacy sucked rocks.</p>
<p>He dropped his keys in the bowl by the door and set his messenger bag by the sofa. “Smells good. What’re we having?”</p>
<p>Rey turned from the stove and smiled at him from the kitchen pass through. “Come try it. Let me know if the sauce is okay.”</p>
<p>He brought the mail and his lunch leftovers to the counter, separating the envelopes into his, hers, and joint bills. The yellowish liquid Rey was stirring smelled more appetizing than it looked. She handed him a spoon to taste. “Smoked gouda sauce for the gnocchi,” she said, pointing to the dumplings floating in the back pot. “Plus broccoli rabe roasting in the oven.”</p>
<p>Ben pointed with the spoon. “Sauce is great. Pretty ambitious tonight. Aren’t you supposed to saute rabe?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, but I read roasting it makes it less bitter.” Rey fixed her gaze on the pots. She batted at a few rising gnocchi with a wooden spoon. “You got a few minutes before it’s all ready.”</p>
<p>“Good. I need to get out of these clothes. I’ll open some wine, too.”</p>
<p>“Great,” she said softly.</p>
<p>Dinner passed as it normally did, with small talk about their respective jobs and interests. Rey tended to discuss her advertorial work with some reluctance, claiming it didn’t equal Ben’s in terms of importance or excitement. That suited him fine. Designing ads for print and digital seemed far less stressful. More than once he’d assured Rey if he had any such talent he’d find similar work.</p>
<p>He offered to refill Rey’s glass, looking for a break in the conversation to change the topic. “I wanted to let you know on Friday, you’ll be on your own for dinner.”</p>
<p>“Late work night?” she asked. “I’ll save a plate.”</p>
<p>“I have a date. We’re going out to dinner and a movie.”</p>
<p>Rey chewed slowly, nodding. Ben watched for a reaction and found curiosity.</p>
<p>“Okay, that’s fine,” she said. “So...Jannah finally got in touch with you?”</p>
<p>He pushed his last gnocchi through the sauce with his fork. “No, this is somebody else. I’ll probably bring her back here afterward.”</p>
<p>“First date?” Rey hid her face behind her wine glass. “You’re not wasting time.”</p>
<p>“Actually, we’ve gone out before. Years ago, but the timing was off then. I ran into her at lunch today and...I don’t know. There might still be something there.” He wanted to keep details light in the event Rey appeared during Phasma’s visit. They didn’t need to rehearse a full backstory for this. “Just so you know.”</p>
<p>“Sure. Thanks for the heads up.” Rey’s voice sounded small and slow.</p>
<p>“And thanks in advance for…” he pointed to the living room with his fork, “well, helping keep the place clean.”</p>
<p>She set her glass down hard. “Ben, that was an accident. How many times do I have to tell you--”</p>
<p>“I said I believed you, Rey. It’s just a bit disconcerting to find underwear out in the open like that. If you found a pair of my dirty briefs in the living room I’m sure you’d feel the same way. And I’d apologize for it.”</p>
<p>“I have apologized, and my ‘underwear’ wasn’t dirty,” she said in a cracked voice. “I even bought a new laundry basket because the weaving on the old one was torn. That’s how the bras ended up on the couch.”</p>
<p>“Okay, Rey. I won’t bring it up again.” Damn it, he’d upset her. This is what kept him from pursuing a greater career in law, his disdain for confrontation. “I’ll clear up the table. Don’t worry about this.”</p>
<p>“You sure?”</p>
<p>Ben nodded and started gathering plates. “Go watch your bake-off shows. I got work to finish.”</p>
<p>“Sit with me while you do it? I got ice cream.”</p>
<p>“Sure.”</p>
<p>Rey bounced away from the table, any hint of melancholy gone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Plan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Late Friday evening, Ben pulled into his designated space at the complex. Phasma took a nearby visitor spot and waited for him to escort her to the second-floor walk-up.</p><p>“What are you doing?” he asked when she put her arms around his waist.</p><p>“Playing the part in case she’s home. We’re supposed to be <em>luvvahs</em>, yes?” She pretended to nip at his neck and he jerked away with a laugh.</p><p>“I’m guessing you had a good time on your actual date tonight.”</p><p>Phasma released him and smoothed down her dress. She matched him in height, over six feet, yet normally her heels put her at an advantage. This night, however, her long legs stopped at a pair of sparkling gold flats to match her outfit. He assumed Phasma had decided it looked less intimidating for a first date.</p><p>“More than good,” she was saying. “We get this over with quickly and I can go back to that date. I didn’t tell her we were doing this,” she added. “Though when the moratorium runs out I want this story to tell. By the way, when is that?”</p><p>“My wedding, I hope.” Ben unlocked the door to a darkened living room and reached for the switch. “She’s not here. She always leaves a light on when she’s home first.”</p><p>Phasma nudged past him, surveying the modest decor of the open space partitioned into living and dining areas. “This isn’t how I expected you to live,” she said.</p><p>“What were you thinking?” Ben glanced around, trying to see the apartment through his friend’s eyes. Phasma definitely seemed more interested in the contents of the shelves, walls, and end tables than looking for a wayward bra.</p><p>She pointed to a series of framed photos on a shelf with tattered romances. “Is she in any of these?” Ben came closer and singled Rey out of the group in the foreground of Times Square. “Everything in this place is her. If I were coming home with you on an actual date, I’d think we were breaking into somebody else’s apartment.</p><p>“That painting over there.” She nodded to the oil landscape hanging by the dining table. “Whose is it?”</p><p>“Mine. As in I painted it.”</p><p>Phasma stared him down. “You paint?”</p><p>“Just the one time. Rey dragged me to a Bob Ross thing when the friend going with her bailed. She --”</p><p>He stopped when his friend laughed.</p><p>“I’m counting that as hers, since it was her idea.”</p><p>“Look, I have a room,” Ben said. “Just because I don’t spread out all my stuff doesn’t mean I don’t consider this place home.”</p><p>“I’m just saying that with so many pieces of her throughout this space, maybe Rey thinks of this apartment as more hers than yours and hers.” Phasma drifted toward the sofa. “And little things like leaving a bra out,” she reached down and snatched the offending item from the right cushion, “are simply that because in her mind this is <em>her</em> home.”</p><p>Ben heated, seeing the clump of white satin in his friend’s fist. “She did it again! She knew I was bringing a woman over, and she pulls this shit.” This sold it; apparently their minor tiff over dinner the other night hadn’t sunk in with her, or else she was acting petty. Had he come home with an actual date it might have ended more over his reaction to the bra than to the actual underthing.</p><p>“What gives her the right to play these games? I...I have to have a serious talk with her,” he said after counting to ten in his head.</p><p>“Ben,” Phasma lowered her voice to a soothing level, “from what you’ve told me, she’s young and a bit flighty. Now that I see how you live, I’m thinking maybe it’s not an intentional sabotage of your love life.”</p><p>Ben looked at her, breathing slowly.</p><p>Phasma gestured around her. “Her photos, her books,” she pointed at the television, “I bet the Roku is full of channels only she watches. This is an extension of her room, Ben. She’s just marking her territory, and viewing any third party as an invasion. Doesn’t matter if it’s a romantic partner or not.”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“You ever think this is partly your doing?” Phasma asked. “I know you’re not a confrontational person, so this woman moves in and gradually takes over. Honestly, I’m not surprised she hasn’t left an entire basket of underwear out here.”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“Has your friend Hux been over since he moved out? Does she act oddly around him, too?”</p><p>He thought for a moment. Rey had friends but they rarely came to visit. She seemed to prefer solitude. When Hux came over to watch football, she tended to stiffen.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>A loud <em>snick</em> signaling an opening door caught their attention. He watched Phasma stuff the bra into her jacket pocket just as Rey entered.</p><p>“Oh!” Rey had her laptop bag slung on one shoulder and a coffee cup in hand. “I’m sorry to interrupt. The cafe closed and kicked me out. I’ll just be passing through.”</p><p>Phasma got the next words in before Ben opened his mouth. “No trouble at all. Ben was showing me around your beautiful apartment. You must be Rey.” She came forward with an outstretched hand. “I’m Phasma. So nice to meet you.”</p><p>“Likewise. Are you a paralegal, too?” They shook hands.</p><p>“Gosh, no. I’m a hand model.”</p><p>Ben pinched the bridge of his nose. <em>Fuck’s sake…</em></p><p>“Wow.” Rey seemed to buy it. “Ben said you two were old friends, right?”</p><p>Phasma turned on a high-watt smile and let out a movie starlet sigh. “Oh, yes. I ran into him coming out of the Body Works at the mall? I was stocking up on cuticle cream -- it’s a must in my line of work. Then we got to talking about old times,” she sang, “and next thing I know we’re hoping to pick up where we left off.”</p><p>Rey nodded slowly, mouth agape. “Well, I won’t keep you then. Goodnight.”</p><p>“Night, sweetie. Next time I’m here I’ll read your palm.” Phasma swiveled around and started for the hallway leading to the bedrooms. “Ben, I believe you were giving me the rest of the tour?”</p><p>“Right.”</p><p>Rey stayed rooted in place between them. Ben had to walk around, and gave a short nod. “Goodnight, Rey.”</p><p>“You too.” Her voice turned small. He barely glanced at her; Phasma was walking too quickly with no idea which door was his.</p><p>Inside Ben’s room, Phasma closed the door and put a finger to her lips. Her quick transformation from giggling fake model to detective jarred him out of the moment, and when Phasma straightened to full height and dropped her smile he felt totally lost.</p><p>“What?” he whispered hard. “Why are you looking around like something’s missing?”</p><p>“Ben, I was wrong.”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>She silenced him again, opened the door a crack, and spoke loudly. “Oh my gosh, Ben. I completely forgot! I have an early call tomorrow. I can’t stay.”</p><p>She then shot him a look that said, play along.</p><p>“What? Oh!” He raised his voice. “Are you sure?”</p><p>“It’s for a national ad, Ben. I have to be refreshed.”</p><p>“You’re a hand model. Does it matter what the rest of you--” The words dropped off. “What the fuck are we talking about?” he demanded in a lower voice.</p><p>“You don’t have to drive me home, I called an Uber. But walk me outside?” Phasma tugged at him to leave. Thankfully, Rey wasn’t lurking in the common area and her door was closed, so they made their escape.</p><p>On the walk to Phasma’s car, she said, “Ben, she’s been in your room.”</p><p>“No way. That was the first rule we set. My room is mine, hers is hers. We don’t go in uninvited.”</p><p>Phasma fished for her keys and produced the bra, which she shoved at him. “Well, she broke it. You couldn’t smell it in there, Ben? Your room reeks of her scent.”</p><p>“Her scent?”</p><p>“Baby Love body spray. An ex of mine used it. I smelled it on Rey when we met, and in your room.”</p><p>Ben shuffled in place in the brightly lighted lot, processing his friend’s theory. <em>Theory</em>. Rey had been a model roommate, even if he didn’t strive to meet that same level. In their eight months of cohabitation, not once did he set foot in her room except to help her move in her things. He’d expected the same courtesy of her, which made it difficult to believe a trusted friend.</p><p>“You’re sure it’s not from the bra? You had it in your pocket.”</p><p>She grabbed it back and put it to her face, then returned it. “That’s Tide clean, my friend.”</p><p>“So why am I not smelling it? That’s where I sleep.” He tapped his long nose. “I certainly don’t miss anything.”</p><p>Phasma folded her arms and nodded. “You’ve lived with this woman for nearly a year. You’re probably used to it. I bet Jannah wasn’t expecting to smell Baby Love in your bedroom when you brought her in there to make love.”</p><p>
  <em>Shit.</em>
</p><p>Phasma moved close to buss him on the cheek. “You’re upset, and you should count to ten before you go back inside. She’s up to something, but I can’t say what. Whatever you do, please handle it calmly.”</p><p>“What can I prove, Phasma? She could say she went to open my window to air out the place after cooking something pungent. It’s a small apartment.” All sorts of smells, he realized, and he’d become accustomed to them. Still, if Rey was a frequent visitor to his room while he was away, he needed to know.</p><p>“Be gentle,” she said and got into her car.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>***</p><p>Ben lay in bed, lights dim but for his laptop, keeping his body still and breathing deep. After a while he did detect something faint, a familiar powdered sugar scent that obviously was so ingrained as to be as natural as air to him. Rey was everywhere, and thanks to recent events everywhere now included his head.</p><p>Phasma refused to say it outright, but Rey’s disregard for Jannah’s comfort coupled with the room invasion amounted to some kind of possessive behavior. Was she attracted to him? He’d never encouraged her romantically. His initial interview with her, when she inquired about the room, had been businesslike and polite. The first month she lived here, they barely saw each other due to work schedules. No opportunity existed then for her to form an attachment to him.</p><p>Hell, he was seeing somebody at the time. Paige, the sister of Armie's girlfriend. Paige had even spent the night once...but abruptly broke it off soon after. She’d given him the old “I feel suffocated” line and left.</p><p>It happened right around the time Rey switched jobs, taking one that allowed her more flexible hours. Allowing her to work from home if she preferred, to help out with the cooking more.</p><p>Suffocated. He’d always believed he’d given Paige the right amount of space. What suffocated her?</p><p>Baby Love body spray?</p><p>Ben grabbed his phone and called his friend. Armie answered on the fourth ring.</p><p>“Who’s dead?”</p><p>“Put Rose on,” Ben said.</p><p>“What...Ben?” Armie growled. “Time is it?”</p><p>“That’s not important. Put Rose on.”</p><p>“She’s sleep,” his friend’s voice slurred.</p><p>“Wake her up and put her on, or else I’m driving over there.”</p><p>Armie muttered a curse but did as asked. Rose sounded just as tired, but her confusion at being summoned so late masked any annoyance. “Ben? What’s wrong?”</p><p>“Rose, did your sister ever say anything to you about why she stopped seeing me? I know this is a ridiculous time to ask --”</p><p>“Uh, yeah.”</p><p>“Please,” he said with all sincerity. “I will buy you both dinner soon. It’s...this can’t wait.”</p><p>Rose was silent for a moment. Ben figured he’d stunned her into deep thought. Finally she said, “I never understood it myself, Ben. Paige really liked you. In a way she still does. She’s with a new guy now, though every now and then she asks how you’re doing.”</p><p><em>I’m lonely and disillusioned</em>. “I want to know what I did.”</p><p>“I don’t recall her exact words, but she kind of got the idea you were hung up on your roommate,” Rose said.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Yeah. She said every time she went over there you two gave off this vibe, you know? Like Rey would hand you a pickle jar to open and you’d make eye contact while you were doing it. You guys seemed very comfortable together.”</p><p>“We live together. It’s best to get along.”</p><p>“Well, I told her if she didn’t like it to suggest that you move out or something.” Rose yawned into the phone. “I guess she figured she couldn’t compete with somebody living across the hallway, even if she was sleeping in your bed next to you. And that made her edgy.”</p><p>Ben thought back, unable to remember if Paige used a body spray or other perfume. No point in asking if Paige ever mentioned loose bras around the apartment.</p><p>“Thank you, Rose. Tell Armie I’m sorry for waking him and you. Goodnight.”</p><p>With sleep a stranger, Ben called up Amazon. He had no idea what to say to Rey about these incidents, and he couldn’t accuse her of breaking a house rule without proof.</p><p>He intended to get it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Camera</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Prime delivery brought the surveillance kit to his office late Monday afternoon. Ben unboxed it at this desk and studied the instruction manual.</p><p>Phasma walked past and did a double-take. “The old nanny cam trick, huh? What do you expect to find?”</p><p>“I don’t know. Nothing, probably.” He set the device, a cube designed to look like a Bluetooth speaker, on his desk. “If Rey’s convinced she chased you off, she doesn’t have a reason to go into my room.”</p><p>“Does there need to be another woman? I wasn’t there long myself, but you do have some neat stuff. You shouldn’t leave cash lying out, either. I was tempted to swipe that twenty.”</p><p>Ben shrugged. “I can’t not know. If there’s no activity after a few days I’ll tell her you decided to come back. We’ll see what happens.”</p><p>“Can I bring my new girlfriend?” Phasma asked, and walked away laughing.</p><p>***</p><p>The camera required an app in order to work. Ben downloaded it to his phone and renamed it, just in the event Rey caught sight of his phone and made mention of it. He placed the cam on the nightstand on the right side of his bed, positioning it to capture as much of the room as possible. Since he couldn’t monitor his room during work hours, he set the app to alert him whenever the camera detected movement.</p><p>Keeping footage of any activity on his account cost twenty dollars a month. Small price to pay for peace of mind. He didn’t expect to use it that long, anyway.</p><p>He wondered if by this time tomorrow he’d have any evidence of Rey poking around his room. If yes, it only gave him so much time to prepare a response to it. Confront her directly, or arrange an eviction through legal channels? The latter option bothered him; he didn’t want to boot Rey out of the apartment, but he couldn’t engage with a roommate who refused to acknowledge his space, or his desire to date.</p><p>His watch buzzed the hour. He’d come home early to set up the camera, and it was his night to cook. He’d prepared the manicotti the night before and needed to get it into the oven.</p><p>In the kitchen, Rey was just setting the long, shallow pan onto the exposed upper rack. She pushed it in deep, straightened while closing the door, and gave a start on turning to see him.</p><p>“I was going to take care of that.” He pointed at the oven. “My night to cook.”</p><p>“You’re home early,” she said.</p><p>“So are you. Isn’t this your office day?”</p><p>Rey rolled the oven mitt in her hands. “Yes, but work was light today. I can finish up here later. I figured I’d save us some time since I wasn’t sure how late you’d be.”</p><p>“I come home at the same time every day,” he chided her.</p><p>“Yes, but you always prep dinner the night before when you have an afternoon meeting scheduled.” Rey turned back to glance at the refrigerator. “I went to get a drink and figured I'd save you some time.”</p><p>He had prepared the casserole dish last night, because he wanted the time to set up the camera. She had his routines down pat. “Oh. Well, I had to drop off some documents. It was on the way home, so I didn’t see the point of driving all the way back to work.”</p><p>“Okay.” Rey’s gaze ran the length of him. “You heading back out after dinner? You’re still dressed up.”</p><p>Ben looked down at himself and removed his suit coat. “I’m not. Going out, I mean. No date tonight.”</p><p>“Too bad.” The sentiment was absent in her expression. She opened the refrigerator and grabbed an opened white. “But I guess we can start on this early together.”</p><p>“Why not?” He reached above them for the wine glasses but she shooed him to the couch. A knot hardened in his stomach at the thought of his bedroom setup. Rey had just done something nice for him, and he was trying to trap her like a mouse.</p><p>He brushed his thumb over his phone screen and stared at the new app icon -- a round red lens staring coldly back at him. Stern and invasive, it was hardly a logo that inspired happy feelings. People used this thing to spy on babysitters neglecting their children and nipping shots from the liquor cabinet.</p><p>He watched Rey move around the kitchen. The way in which she prepared two simple glasses of wine gave evidence to her methodical nature. She removed the foil, threw it out. Made sure they had even pours. Replaced the cork in the bottle afterward. Put the opener and wine away. Everything in its place before settling down.</p><p>Funny how she couldn’t do the same with a damn bra.</p><p>“Thank you.” He took the wine and sipped as she sat opposite him on the sofa, legs crossed and feet bare. She was clearly in for the night herself.</p><p>“What happened with your hand model friend?” she asked. “You haven’t mentioned her lately.”</p><p>Ben set his glass on the coffee table. “Nothing to tell. I don’t think it will go anywhere. She’s rather career-oriented.”</p><p>“Oh. I’m sorry to hear it. She seemed nice.”</p><p>He made a point of not looking directly at her during her response. While pretending to scroll on his phone, he peered from under his lashes and spotted a slight smile distorted through the glass Rey lifted. </p><p>He pressed down on the nanny cam app to bring up the tiny X meant to erase it.</p><p>“What about you?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you heading out on a date in a while. That guy who came to dinner a month ago. Finn?”</p><p>Rey shook her head. “More like six months, Ben, jeez. And he was a setup, not my type.”</p><p>“What is your type? I might know somebody at work I can introduce you to --”</p><p>“Stop.” Rey held up a hand. “Blind dates never work for me. Anyway, I can’t see myself with a lawyer. What would I have in common with somebody like that?”</p><p>“No?” He tilted his head, looking at her. “You like books, and baking shows, and you’re artistic. Some lawyers are into those things.”</p><p>“Not you.”</p><p>"I'm not a lawyer."</p><p>"You could be."</p><p>Ben raised an eyebrow. “I also love to read.”</p><p>“Yeah, but you’re athletic and outdoorsy. You hike and camp with your dad…” Her voice dropped low and she sipped long before adding, “Kind of hard picturing a hand model in the wilderness.”</p><p>“I suppose. So, there’s nobody you’re interested in or attracted to right now?” he asked. “Not even unconsciously?”</p><p>Rey drained her glass. “Maybe. I should check on dinner,” she said quickly and launched from the sofa.</p><p>Ben pressed the home button on his phone, leaving the app intact.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Video</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tuesday and Wednesday passed with nary a blip from the nanny cam. His life crossed with Rey’s as usual, alternating kitchen duties and pooling cash to replenish the wine supply. He brought home shirts from the cleaners, she dusted the shelves. Her housework added the scent of lemon furniture polish, yet when it faded the soft whisper of Baby Love body spray remained.</p><p>Perhaps the scent was meant to delude him. He decided today if the app recorded no activity, he’d delete it and accept that Rey’s “interference” in his personal life was the concoction of an overactive, highly suggestive mind.</p><p>Day three. He had to silence his phone during a string of mid-afternoon meetings and interviews. When he came up for air with a desk salad and Coke can left behind by Phasma, he tapped the screen to see a notification.</p><p>
  <em>Alert: movement detected at 12:17 PM.</em>
</p><p>The camera would automatically record thirty minutes from the point of activation, according to the plan he’d purchased. He only needed a few seconds of Rey in his room without his permission.</p><p>His hand trembled and his heart swelled with concern. He took a deep breath to tamp down ill feelings. It could be nothing. Maybe Rey spotted a bill he’d overlooked and placed it on his dresser. But he’d know by that action that she’d broken the rules. Maybe she’d lie about it and suggest he put it there.</p><p>Maybe he should just watch the damn video.</p><p>“Hey, Ben.”</p><p>He dropped his phone, crying out. Ami, his purple-haired messenger friend, seemed equally shocked but recovered quickly enough to laugh. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Something really had you tuned out. I didn’t mean to --”</p><p>“You’re fine. Been a long day.” He saw the manila envelopes tucked against her chest. “Anything for me today?”</p><p>“All of it. Your day may be getting longer because of it, but don’t shoot the messenger.” She tapped the word <em>Urgent</em> stamped on the top envelope.</p><p>“Nice. I was supposed to meet the group at Canto for drinks. You mind sending my regrets?”</p><p>Ami shrugged. “Not going this time. Phas is taking me out to Takodana for dinner.”</p><p>“Order the lobster. Have fun.”</p><p>He waited for her to turn the corner before calling up the notification, then tilted the phone to landscape to watch. Sure enough, the camera picked up on his door pushing into the room, with Rey poking her head into the space.</p><p>“Rey,” he groaned, “what are you doing?”</p><p>She came fully inside, dressed only in pale boy shorts. The sight of his roommate in her near birthday suit, taking small steps while inspecting her surroundings, caused him to fumble the phone. He caught it without interrupting the video but paused it anyway, deciding whether or not to continue.</p><p>This was enough proof. She’d broken a rule. What was he if he continued to watch? What compelled Rey to walk into his room practically naked?</p><p><em>Erase it</em>, his conscience advised. <em>Wait another time or buy a lock for the door.</em></p><p>“I buy a lock, she’ll think I don’t trust her.”</p><p>Did he trust her?</p><p><em>Erase it</em>, his conscience repeated.</p><p><em>Watch it</em>, his libido urged.</p><p>He pressed play. Rey walked with her back straight, shoulders back and breasts out. With every step around the bed she seemed to gain confidence and her walk became more of a strut. She’d marked every other room in the apartment with her possessions; here it looked like she was checking out the real estate.</p><p>She touched things. An idle brush of her fingers over his bed comforter, a reach for the photo of his parents he’d wedged in the dresser mirror. Patting the head of the stuffed toy Beagle he’d gotten at a work Secret Santa party. No regard for his stuff, no spot missed.</p><p>She stepped out of view briefly, then reappeared. Ben realized she’d gone into his bathroom, as she came back holding his aftershave with both hands. She’d screwed off the top and waved the open bottle under her nose, eyes closed and turning in a circle as she took in the scent. Like it was meant to transport her someplace else.</p><p>When she dipped in a finger and traced a line between her breasts, he wondered if he’d smell it on her later. She set the bottle on his dresser and he made a note to look for it there.</p><p>Stopping at his open closet, she pulled out one of the shirts he’d had dry cleaned and put it on. The shirttail reached her mid-thigh and the material just covered her breasts, leaving a tempting strip of bare skin exposed. She looked like a sexy perfume ad stepped out of Vogue.</p><p>Like Baby Love. Ben instinctively tucked his face into his shoulder and inhaled. For all the good it did. Ever since Phasma mentioned it, the air was composed of that damned scent.</p><p>She lifted her hair over the collar and it brushed down her shoulders. She fingered the buttons and edges but didn’t fasten them, just stared down at her body and then at her reflection in his dresser mirror. The posing went on for a minute more before she carefully removed the shirt, smoothed it down on its hanger, and replaced it.</p><p>Ben’s knee bounced as he watched. He had what he needed, now to figure out what to do with it. No point in watching further…</p><p>Rey should have left; she’d completed her purpose, right? She turned from the closet and cupped her breasts, twisting her nipples into hard peaks. Her dreamy, heavy-lidded expression spoke of someone in no rush to go anywhere. She just stood in his room, fondling herself, and thinking lord knows what.</p><p>Ben felt his cock harden. He looked away to expel any thoughts of want for Rey, then summoned the will to stop the video.</p><p>Instead he turned up the screen to find her lying on her back on top of his bed. She was pressing her right hand fingertips to her lips, then slipping them under the elastic band of her boyshorts.</p><p>Pause. <em>Now</em> he’d seen enough. The phone remained face down on his desk for the remainder of the work day.</p><p>***</p><p>Rey wasn’t home. He checked his phone, then remembered he’d said something about going to Canto with his workmates. It was her night to cook, and she likely decided to go out.</p><p>That suited him fine. He wasn’t ready to confront her about the vixenish show she’d unwittingly put on for the nanny cam. Just thinking about Rey pleasuring himself on his bed, mingling her scent with his, had a phone-sized mark burning in the pocket against his right thigh.</p><p>He’d skipped dinner to finish work, and hunger panged in him. First, he checked his room. Rey wasn’t intentionally careless. His aftershave had been restored, and his closet looked okay. He slid his palm over the bed comforter and thought of Rey rolling on top of it, wondering what else she’d done in his room over these past months.</p><p>He sat in the middle of it, no longer concerned about perfumes or fingerprints. He opened his personal laptop and called up his nanny cam account, and downloaded the video to a thumb drive. It went into an envelope with Rey’s name on it, accompanied with a three-word note: <em>Should we talk?</em></p><p>It probably wasn’t the best method of confronting her, but he thought it might at least give her an opportunity to reach out to him, explain her actions. Hopefully they could converse like adults and work through this.</p><p>“Ben?”</p><p>He hadn’t heard her come home. He found her in the kitchen getting a Coke. A white takeout bag sat on the pass through counter. “How was your thing?”</p><p>“I didn’t go.” He gave her an edited version of his day, leaving out the obvious. “I was about to order a pizza.”</p><p>“You don’t have to. I have enough to split.” Rey took out two plates before Ben could protest. He saw the bag had come from his favorite Indian place, and he recognized the smell. Butter chicken, his usual.</p><p>“Get the pizza tomorrow,” she said. “I won’t expect you to cook if I didn’t. I was just going to catch up on my shows and eat.”</p><p>“Let’s skip the table and do that, then.” He smiled as she handed him a Coke. He preferred not to eat on the sofa, but maybe this would help soften the mood given the surprise coming to her.</p><p>Eating took about two episodes of some British baking show to complete, after which he cleaned up to let her finish the latter episode. “I left the mail in my room. Hang on,” he said, and grabbed hers. He slipped the envelope with the thumb drive between her mail order catalogs and prayed for a civil resolution.</p><p>He set the pile on the coffee table. “I’m beat, so I’m just going to shower and hit the sack. Thanks for sharing your dinner.”</p><p>Rey sat with her knees tucked under her chin. Damn, but she looked so cute and content. He’d already placed the envelope within her reach; no going back for it now.</p><p>“Good night, Ben. This was fun.”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Fight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The shower did little to soothe him, it just added <em>wet</em> to the other adjectives: nervous and anxious and slightly nauseous. He had no idea how Rey would react to seeing video of herself stalking around his room.</p><p>He secured a towel around his waist and opened his top drawer for a pair of boxer briefs. It never occurred to him to inventory his clothes in the event Rey was taking souvenirs. He wasn’t sure how many pairs of underwear he owned, anyway.</p><p>He stopped caring when his door banged open and jolted his heart.</p><p>“You son of a bitch!”</p><p>Rey marched into his room, red and radiating fury. She was dressed for bed in a white tank top, thin enough to show her dark areolas, and the same boyshorts from earlier. She held up the thumb drive, so close she might have shoved it up his nose.</p><p>“What kind of sick pervert are you, pulling a stunt like this? How dare you invade my privacy!”</p><p>“How dare I?” The words were out before he could think. He pointed to the drive. “That wouldn’t exist if you hadn’t invaded my privacy first.”</p><p>“What gives you the right --”</p><p>“The fact that you broke the rules, Rey. You’re not supposed to come into my room, and I don’t go into yours. We agreed on this when you joined the lease.” Damn it, this wasn’t how he wanted to begin, but Rey’s sputtering anger had thrown him. It shouldn’t have, but it did. She appeared nowhere close to calming down, either.</p><p>“Oh, so what? One little time I walked into your room. It’s not like you live in the Ark of the Covenant.”</p><p>“You watched that video all the way through, yes? You know what you did in here?”</p><p>Rey threw the thumb drive with a grunt. It made a plinking sound when it hit the tile floor of his bathroom. “How many other cameras do you have in the apartment, Ben? Are you watching me in the living room, or my bedroom?” Her voice cracked. “Do you sit in here and jack off to surveillance footage of me watching TV in my sweatpants?”</p><p>“It’s one camera, in here. And I wouldn’t have put it here if Phasma hadn’t confirmed your body spray stink all over my room!”</p><p>“The hand model?” Rey gave a bitter laugh. “You’d trust the word of a bimbo <em>hand model</em> over a friend who’s helped you keep house for nearly a year?”</p><p>Anguish was slowly replacing anger. He saw it in her eyes. “Keep house?”</p><p>“You didn’t cook or eat home cooked food until I moved in. You didn’t make time for self-care or other activities until I moved in. You’d lose bills coming in the mail.” She ticked these points off her fingers. “You were always eating out of a bag and working all night, and you never came out of your precious room. I fixed all that.”</p><p>“You fixed me,” Ben said. “I was never broken.”</p><p>“You damn well were, Ben Solo. You weren’t living, you were existing. I’ve worked so hard to make your life better, and you thank me by making me feel like a damn criminal.”</p><p>“That wasn’t my intent --”</p><p>Rey was entering ugly cry territory now, and the night’s butter chicken roiled in his gut.</p><p>“Do you even notice? The common space here looked like a damn dorm until I moved in. I do everything. I even wash your damn towels!”</p><p>She drove the point home by ripping away the one around his waist. Naked, wet, nervous, anxious.</p><p>“Rey.”</p><p>Rey was breathing hard, staring at his bare chest, then lower.</p><p>“Rey.”</p><p>She met his gaze.</p><p>“I do appreciate everything you do,” he spoke slowly and calmly.</p><p>She gave a small smile.</p><p>“It still doesn’t explain the video. My aftershave, my shirt, lying on my bed...the bras left on the couch.”</p><p>The smile wriggled on her lips a moment before disappearing. “I was upset.”</p><p>“You didn’t look that way.”</p><p>“I was upset thinking of all the work I’ve done here, and how you want to bring in somebody else to benefit from it.” She fixed him with a cold stare. “Especially after all the times you encouraged me.”</p><p>“Encouraged you.” It wasn’t a question.</p><p>“You looking like the avatar of a damn Roman god doesn’t help, either.”</p><p>It was clear one of them was stark mad. At this point, he wasn’t sure of the answer. He knew he was tired and losing energy and had to conclude this talk somehow. Tabling it until tomorrow might bring more frustration.</p><p>“You know what? Fine. You got me.” He held up his arms in defeat. “I suppose all that work you put into me made me realize that I didn’t want to be alone, because I now have time for self-care. I guess I didn’t expect you to have planned my love life as well.” He edged past her and started for the door. “So why not finish the job?”</p><p>“Hey, you can’t go in my room!”</p><p>“The rules don’t apply anymore, right?” He barged into Rey’s room, finding a cozy space enhanced by soft pink lighting and all white furniture. Tiny bean bag animals lined her dresser. An active oil diffuser on her nightstand expelled calming lavender-scented mist -- it apparently hadn’t worked tonight.</p><p>He caught his reflection in the oval mirror of her vanity and cringed at his flattened damp hair and downturned expression. Rey came in behind him, her eyes wide. <em>Now where is it? Yes.</em> “You’ve marked the entire apartment with your sugar donut Baby Love scent, but you missed a spot.”</p><p>He grabbed the bottle and aimed the spray nozzle at his neck. He mashed the pump and the sweet mist of Baby Love peppered his skin.</p><p>“Stop it! That’s expensive!”</p><p>“It’s what you want, right, Rey?” He spritzed Baby Love on his pecs, his abdomen, his cock, and his thighs. “You want everybody to know who belongs in this apartment. Everywhere I go, people will smell me and know.”</p><p>Rey lunged forward and reached for the bottle but Ben held it high above his head. It was comical to see Rey on her tiptoes and hopping up for it, but damned if her bouncing breasts didn’t kickstart his cock. “Nice try,” he said, and stretched his other hand up to unscrew the top. He tossed aside the pump and dumped the rest of the perfume over his head.</p><p>“Ben!” Rey shrieked.</p><p>“Happy now?” he demanded and, dropping the bottle, started back to his room. Rey blocked his exit.</p><p>“No, I am not happy. That bottle costs twenty-five dollars and it’s supposed to last me for months. I don’t make as much as you. I have to <em>hey</em> --”</p><p>Ben shoved his hands under her armpits, lifted her squirming body, and moved her out of the way.</p><p>He slammed his door behind him. Rey kicked it open. “I budget everything, Ben. I wasn’t planning to replace that bottle for a long time. You owe me a new one.”</p><p>Ben folded his arms. “Well, I’d say it was a good investment that paid off for you, anyway. You got what you wanted.”</p><p>Rey rooted to the ground, mimicking his stance.</p><p>“I’m marked,” he said. “I reek of Baby Love and now no woman will fuck me.” He held up his right hand and wiggled his fingers, indicating his future.</p><p>“That’s not what I wanted.”</p><p>“You sure about that? Every sign --”</p><p>“I want a woman to fuck you. Me!” She stabbed her forefinger to her chest. “I am the woman.”</p><p>“You know, you could have just said something.”</p><p>“You could have gotten the multitude of hints given over the last eight months,” she countered. “You should have figured it out after the first time I left my bra on the couch.”</p><p>“Yeah? Well,” he grabbed his cock and stroked it hard, “see this? You’re never getting this.”</p><p>Rey laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”</p><p>“I mean it. In fact, I’m keeping the spy cam even though I don’t need it anymore.” He leaped onto his bed and resumed stroking himself. “I’m going to rub one out every night and record it, and email you the videos.”</p><p>“You’re gross. I’ll just delete them.”</p><p>“I’ll text you pictures every hour,” he said. “I’ll hack the damn Roku so every time you turn on a baking channel all you’ll see is me jacking off my Roman god cock that will never, ever be inside you.”</p><p>“Yeah?” Rey pushed down her boyshorts and cupped her pussy. “Well, you’re never getting this.”</p><p>“I don’t want it,” Ben snapped.</p><p>“I don’t know how much of me you saw today, but I assure you it doesn’t begin to define how sexual I am.” She crawled next to him and knelt, thighs wide to show off her bare mound. “I have made masturbation a damned art, and I know things that would make your toes curl.”</p><p>“Have you ever even kissed another person?”</p><p>Rey pushed up her tank top and pinched her nipples. “I don’t need to fuck you. I have a whole arsenal of toys in my room.” She moved one hand down to play with her clit. “I’m the best lover I’ve ever had.”</p><p>Ben huffed and held his cock by the head, squeezing hard.</p><p>Rey pushed one breast high and bent her head down to lick the nipple. “You’re never going to suck my tits.”</p><p>Ben pinched his own nipple in response. With his other hand he massaged his tip until a drop of precum glistened over the glans. He rubbed it between his fingers. “You’re never going to suck my cock.”</p><p>“You’re never going to eat my pussy.” Rey used two fingers to draw up her labia and expose her clitoral hood.</p><p>Ben pushed out his tongue and slowly traced his upper lip. “You’re never going to sit on my face.”</p><p>Rey jammed the same fingers into her cunt. “You’re never to feel how wet and tight I am.”</p><p>Ben turned on his side, facing her. He stroked faster. “You’re never going to feel my hard, oiled-up cock sliding between your breasts or the crack of your ass, just before I push it into your hot little hole and stretch you so wide you’ll think you’ve split in two.”</p><p>Rey swallowed. “You’re never going to hit my G-spot, and I do have one. Like you’d ever find it.”</p><p>He saw the sweat bead on her forehead. “You’re never going to feel the cold tile of my shower wall against your back and the hot water spray on your neck while I’m fucking you upright.”</p><p>She grit her teeth for a moment, then, “You are never, ever going to lick my ass, or fuck my ass, or even <em>look</em> at it! And I’ve never done anal or used a toy wider than my fingers because I’m saving it, so I am <em>soooo</em> tight.”</p><p>“Yeah?” He was hard as a rock, and he fought not to watch the rapid circular movement of her fingers on her clit.</p><p>“I’m so tight I’d pinch you off. Not that you’ll ever get near my ass.”</p><p>“You couldn’t take all of me.” He tingled below. He was close.</p><p>“You wanna bet?” Rey’s breathing labored.</p><p>He came on his fist. “Fuck, yes! Rey!”</p><p>“Ben!” She collapsed.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Apologies</h2></a>
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    <p>At six in the morning his phone alarm chimed its gentle, gradual wake-up music, and Ben slammed his hand down, tapping until he hit something to silence it. He rolled back onto his side to reclaim his position in bed, spooning Rey’s warm body against his chest, and fell into sleep.</p><p>For about five minutes. The phone awoke from the snooze command and the tubular bells demanded attention. Ben dislodged his arm from under Rey’s head and sat up in bed, taking a few seconds to fully awaken before properly shutting off the sound.</p><p>He was sore, hoarse from yelling, and sporting an early hour hard-on. Last thing he remembered was making a mess of his comforter before passing out. He hadn’t had the strength to slip under the sheets. It would’ve meant moving Rey, too, and the argument had left her knackered as well.</p><p>He heard her moan, and she rolled completely over and opened her eyes. They locked gazes for a moment and spoke together: “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“No, me first.” Rey scrambled up to sit and Ben drew her under his arm. “Ben, I was being manipulative and making assumptions about what was best for you, and I was wrong.” She danced her fingertips along his chest. “I had no right to do that.”</p><p>“I have to take some blame. It’s not all your fault.” He bent down and brushed her lips with his. “I haven’t been very observant, or appreciative of your help lately. And maybe in some way I projected my loneliness and desire for company onto you, and influenced you in some way.”</p><p>She moved her hand down to his hip. “I feel so bad now. I messed things up for you and that hand model.”</p><p>“She’s not a hand model, Rey. Phasma works with me. We deceived you, and I’m sorry.”</p><p>Rey shrugged into him. “Well, a hand model ought to wear gloves all the time for protection, so maybe not so much.” She looked down at him. “Are you hurt?”</p><p>“A bit sore and sticky. You?”</p><p>“Same. I was a bit rough on myself.”</p><p>“Yeah? Let’s look.” He palmed one of her breasts and brushed his thumb over the nipple. “This hurt?”</p><p>“No...Ben, I didn’t mean it when I said you could never suck my tits.”</p><p>“I know. You were mad,” Ben said and lowered himself to better inspect her breasts.</p><p>“Because you can, anytime you want.”</p><p>“Okay.” He sucked one into his mouth and worried the nipple between his teeth, then released. “Feel better?”</p><p>“Yeah.” She laughed. “Your hair smells like Baby Love.”</p><p>“I better wash it before work,” he said. “And I’ll get you a new bottle. I’m sorry.”</p><p>“It’s okay. No rush.” She touched her pussy. “I’m sore here, too.”</p><p>Couldn’t have that. Ben slid in two fingers and massaged her. “This help?”</p><p>“A bit. But look at you.” Her hands grazed his erection. “This doesn’t look comfortable.”</p><p>“It’s not.”</p><p>“Maybe if you moved,” she said.</p><p>“Like this?” Ben let go of her and hovered as she inched down to a supine position, then settled in between her thighs.</p><p>“Little higher,” she said and helped guide his cock into her.</p><p>“Oh, that’s much better.” Definitely what he needed to ease the ache.</p><p>“It is.” Rey clutched at his back. “You can take it slow if you want.”</p><p>“Would be nice.” Instead he pounded harder. “If I didn’t have to be at work.”</p><p>“Ugh. Me too. I won’t have time to clean up. Can I shower with you, just this once? It’ll save me some time.”</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>“Of course, if we did more it often we’d save money. The last water bill was a bit high.”</p><p>Ben nipped at her neck. “The heating bill was up, too.”</p><p>“Oh. It does get cold here, though,” Rey said. “If I turn it down we should get more blankets, and stay in the same room at night to keep warm.”</p><p>“Good idea.” Ben panted.</p><p>Rey kissed him hard, then, “And I’m sorry for all the trouble, Ben. Really.”</p><p>“No, no.” Ben kissed back, working down her mouth, across her neck and back again. “You were right. You were right.”</p><p> </p><p>The End</p>
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